The presidential aide made this statement on the sidelines of the Gaidar economic forum in Moscow, commenting on the appointment of Tulin, a partner of the auditing firm Deloitte, as central bank first deputy chairman responsible for monetary policy, which implies inflation and exchange rate regulation.

“I believe there will be some changes. This appointment is not accidental,” he said.

Russia’s Central Bank currently faces new tasks that are more complex than at the previous stage, he said.

“It is necessary to stabilize or keep stable the ruble, which has now entered stabilization territory, and achieve a reduction in interest rates because it is impossible to do business in Russia at such rates,” the presidential aide said.

Russia’s Central Bank unexpectedly hiked the key rate on December 16 to 17% from 10.5% to stem the ruble’s devaluation amid falling world oil prices. The regulator has said it will lower the base rate as soon as the situation on the domestic financial market came to normal.

The Russian Central Bank’s financial policy measures and currency interventions on the domestic foreign exchange market in recent weeks have failed to stabilize the ruble, which has been increasingly under pressure amid western sectoral sanctions barring Russian companies and banks from medium- and long-term financing on international capital markets and falling prices of oil, a major hard currency earner for Russia’s budget.

The ruble showed a rebound on the Moscow Exchange on Thursday amid rising world oil prices and OPEC’s improved outlook for global oil demand in 2015.

Tulin worked as Central Bank deputy chairman for supervision in 1991-1994 and 2004-2006. He left for work at Deloitte’s Russian office in 2006.